Making PowerPoint Slides

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides

Tips to be Covered

Outlines Slide Structure Fonts Color Background Graphs Spelling and Grammar Conclusions Questions

Outline
Make

your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation

Ex: previous slide

Follow

the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation Only place main points on the outline slide

Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points

Slide Structure Good

Use

1-2 slides per minute of your presentation Write in point form, not complete sentences Include 4-5 points per slide Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only

Slide Structure - Bad

This

page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.
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Slide Structure Good

Show

one point at a time:

Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying Will prevent audience from reading ahead Will help you keep your presentation focused

Slide Structure - Bad

Do Do Be

not use distracting animation not go overboard with the animation consistent with the animation that you use

Fonts - Good
Use

at least an 18-point font Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points

this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and the title font is 36-point

Use

a standard font like Times New Roman or

Arial

Fonts - Bad

If you use a small font, your audience wont be able to read what you have written

CAPITALIZE

ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ

Dont use a complicated font

Color - Good
Use

a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background

Ex: blue font on white background

Use

color to reinforce the logic of your structure color to emphasize a point

Ex: light blue title and dark blue text But only use this occasionally

Use

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Color - Bad

Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying. Using a different color for each point is unnecessary

Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary

Trying to be creative can also be bad

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Color - Conversion to B/W

Make sure your graphics are still legible even in black and white. Necessary for handouts Useful for color-blind viewers

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Background - Good

Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple Use backgrounds which are light

Dark is arty, but hard on the eyes Dark is expensive to reproduce on paper (for handouts)

Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

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Background Bad
Avoid

backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from Always be consistent with the background that you use

Graphs - Good
Use

graphs rather than just charts and words.

Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data Trends are easier to visualize in graph form

Always

title your graphs. Always give credit to the source.

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Graphs - Bad

January February Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 Red Balls 30.6 38.6

March 90 34.6

April 20.4 31.6

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Graphs - Good
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 January February
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Blue Balls Red Balls

March

April

Graphs - Bad
100 90 90

80

70

60 Blue Balls Red Balls 38.6 34.6 30.6 30 20.4 20 27.4 20.4 31.6

50

40

10

0 January February March April

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Graphs - Bad
Minor

gridlines are unnecessary Font is too small Colors are illogical Title is missing Shading is distracting

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Spelling and Grammar

Proof

your slides for:

speling mistakes the use of of repeated words grammatical errors you might have make

If

English is not your first language, please have someone else check your presentation!

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Conclusion

Use an effective and strong closing

Your audience is likely to remember your last words

Use a conclusion slide to

Summarize the main points of your presentation Suggest future avenues of research

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Questions??
End

your presentation with a simple question slide to:

Invite your audience to ask questions Provide a visual aid during question period Avoid ending a presentation abruptly

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Slide format
Top left: Penn Logo Top right: Course number, Team number Bottom right: Date, page number To add format to each slide: View/Master/Slide master

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